Thomas claeke



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r I r PERMANBNT.FIRE ESCAPE. .No. 291,688. Patented Jan. 8, 1884 WITNESSES; i g M y a w ATTORN YS 5 u. PETERS. Pfimul n m. wan-" m. u a

UNITED I STATES PATENT @rrrcn- THOMAS CLARKE, OF TRURO, NOVA SCQTIA, CANADA.

PERMANENT FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291,688, dated January 8, 1884:.

' Application filed April 16, 1883. (No model.)

part of thisspecification, and in which Figure 1 is a sectional View of part of a building provided with my improved fire-escape. i Fig. 2 is a front or face view of one of the windows of the building, showing the escape in position fronting the same. Fig. 3 is a topor plan view of the cage which forms part of my improved fire-escape. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view of the spring-Windlass for operating the cage; and Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of certain parts of the same, which will be hereinafter more fully explained in describing the construction and operation of the Windlass. v 1

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

My invention has relation topermanent fireescapes, or that class of escapes which are attached permanently to and form part of a building; and itconsists in the construction and arrangement of parts of the same, as hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings, A denotes the front wall of a building provided with one of my improved escapes.

B denotes one of the windows in the building, above which, under the roof or caves, are suitably attached beams or anchors O, the free ends of which project a suitable distance out over the front wall,to permit the traveling cage or car, which constitutes a part of my invention, to swingfree of the window-sills or other projecting parts of the building. The outer ends of the supports oranchors C are connected with the ground by stays D, which may be made of iron. or steel rods, or by twisted wire rope or chains, as may be desired.

Inthe drawingsl have shown the stays D D bolted to hangers or stirrups a, which in turn are firmly bolted to the outer ends of the beams or hangers 5C. The lower ends of the stays D should beanchored firmly in the ground, or in some suitable support near the ground, in any desired manner and said ground anchors should be provided with means for tightening the stays or taking up slack whenever required.

Hung in the outer end of each of the anchors 0 is a sheave or snatch-block, E, over which the hoisting-ropes F are passed, there being one hoisting-rope for each of the sheaves, as clearly shown in Fi 2 To the free ends of the hoisting'ropes F is hung a car or cage, G, which may be made of thin steel or iron rods, or of wire-netting, so as to make it strong and durable with a minimum weight. Thetop part, g, of this cage may be made of chains, so that it will fold down or collapse when the cage is not in use, and thus reduce the size of the same, so that it will stow itself out of the way underneath the projecting eaves, or at any suitable receptacle in the top part of the building, and be always ready for use whenever wanted, without any preparation. The lower part of the cage is provided with a hinged door, H, which, when the cage is in position opposite a window in the building "from which escape is to be made, may be swung down with its free end resting uponthe window-sill, so as to form a bridge or platform connecting the window with the cage, thereby making accidents impossible if a person should make a false step in trying to reach the cage from the window. An outer door, 11, is also provided for exit on reaching the ground. As these doors shut upwardly, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, they willin no manner interfere with the descent of the cage, and will swing open by their own gravity whenever the cage is stopped in front of a window during its descent.

I prefer to construct the floor or bottom of the cage of thin metallic slats, as shown at b in Fig. 3, and the bottom brace, as well as one or more of the top bars, should be provided with extensions 1, the outer ends of which form loops or eyes i, through which the stays DD are passed, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. By means of these fixed stays or ways the cage will have a true upward and downward motion when inuse, whether the stays (which must of course be parallel to each other) are parallel to the wall of the building, or whether they are placed in a slanting or inclined position relative thereto.

The hoisting-ropes F pass through a suitable aperture in the wall into the interior ofthe building, and are connected to the drum K of the Windlass L. In the presentillustration of my invention I have shown this windlass journaled in hangers M, which are fastened to beams N in the top part of the building; but it is obvious that the Windlass may be arranged in any other desired manner or at any other suitable location, as may be found con venient or expedient, so that it will occupy a proper position for working the hoisting-ropes and the cage or cradle supported at the free ends of the same, and be always ready for use without any preparation.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings I have shown a sectional view of the Windlass, from which it will be seen that the same consists of ahollow drum or cylinder, K, which is journaled at opposite ends in the hangers M.

P is the shaft of the drum, which is inserted centrally and longitudinally through the same, with its inner end, Q, inserted into a recess, 0, in the head R of the drum or cylinder. The central shaft, P, is encircled by one or more coiled or spiral springs, (shown at S,) the ends of which springs are fastened on one side in one of the heads R, while the other ends are fastened in the central shaft, P.

To the projecting end of the shaft P is at tached a crank, S, which has a clutch, T, adapted to engage a corresponding clutch, U, which is fixed upon the adjacent head Rof the cylinder in such a manner that when the clutch T is pushed against the head of the cylinder the clutches T and U will mesh with or engage one another, thereby turning or rotating the drum, while the clutchU will become disengaged from the crank-clutch T, when the shaft is rotated in the opposite direction. A flat bolt, V, slides in ways R upon the cylinder-head, and in a transverse recess in the half-clutch U, and is provided upon its inner end with a rectangular slot or notch, '0, open at the end, which fits over the square portion 9 of the shaft P when pushed in, and is provided at its outer end with aknob, v, or similar means for drawing the bolt out or pushing it in. In this manner, when the flat bolt is pushed in and the two half-clutches engage, the windlass will be rotated with the shaft and crank, operating as an ordinary windlass, while when the bolt is withdrawn and the clutches disengaged the descending cage will wind the spring, which will again rotate the cylinder, winding the rope and raising the cage, when the weight of the persons descending in the cage is removed, thus operating the escape automatically without the need of a person to operate the windlass.

The drum of the cylinder, around which the hoistingropes F F are wound, is provided with an ordinary lever-brake, W, which is actuated by a cord or thin wire rope, X, the free end of which passes over a small sheave or pulley, Y, which may be conveniently attached to the inner side of one of the anchor-beams C. The free end of the brake-cord is attached to a roller, Z, journaled in the frame of the cage, and being of the same construction as awatch or clock drum, the brake-cord winding the spring when the cage is descending, which spring will then serve towind the cord upon the drum or roller, when the cage ascends again. In this manner provision is made for keeping the brake-cord taut duringthe ascent or descent of the car or cage G. To the bottom of the car is attached a wire rope or chain, c, which reaches to the ground below, so that the car may be lowered by a person standing on the ground or at any one of the windows by pulling said cord 0.

One of the chief drawbacks to the efficiency of permanent fire-escapes in the event of a fire arises from the fact that their precise location in the building is not readily ascertained during the confusion incident to a fire, especially in a large hotel full of transient guests, many of whom may have arrived on late trains, and have had no opportunity for ascertaining the means of escape in the event of a fire. I therefore place outside of the window in each story, which is passed by the cage on its ascent or descent, an automatic device which will operate an alarm every time the cage or car goes up or down. A device of this kind is shown in Fig. 1 of the draw-v ings, from which it will be seen that it consists simply of a lever, h, having an elastic knob, t, at its outer end, and hinged at its inner end, j, to a suitable support affixed in the wall of the building, either below or above the window, or on one side thereof. Lever h is held in its horizontal or extended position by means of two curved springs, k, which are fixed in the wall, and bear with their curved outer ends against the lever, as clearly shown in the drawings. Bell-cords (shown at Z) connect lever h with a bell or gong placed in the hall of the building, there being one of these for each story, and as the car or cage travels up or down past the different stories, an alarm is struck each time it is opposite to one of the windows of egress, so that the guests can have no difficulty in finding the means of exit, nor can they fail to know the precise moment when the car is there ready to carry them out of the burning building. It is obvious, however, that this device may be modified in its construction without materially deviating from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. The combination, with a building, of par-= allel ways or stays attached permanently thereto, a cage or car traveling upon said ways or stays, and provided with ropes for hoisting it up or down,a spring-actuated windlass adapted to hoistthe car by the tensionof the spring when wound, a brake mechanism actuatcdby a cord, the lower end of which is connected to a spring-roller inside of or attached to the j outside of the traveling car or cage, and a rope orchain attached to the bottom of the same, by means of which it may be drawn down to the bottom of the building, the whole constructed and arranged to operate substantially in the manner and for the purpose shown b y and setforth.

2. The combination, with a building, of pan allel ways or stays attached permanently therel to, a cage or car traveling upon said ways or stays, and provided with ropes for hoisting it ass 3 building, and an alarm adapted to be operated automatically by the car as it travels up or down, the whole constructed and arranged to operate substantially in the manner and for purpose shown and set forth.

3. The combination, in a permanent fireescape, of a cage or car adapted to travel up or down in front of the windows of a building, with alarm devices located at the said windows, and having projecting arms engaging with the passing cage, operating the alarm,

as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

4. The car or cage G, provided with a collapsible top, eyes i, for guiding it upon the ways, and doors H, adapted to open in a vertical plane, so as to form a platform. connect,- ing the windows of the building with the car when the apparatus is in use, substantially as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS CLARKE.

Witnesses:

HUGH MACKENZIE, G. E. MACDONALD. 

